THE MANNED GENIN
by Marema fanai
Summary: Naruto receives training from the unlikeliest place early. How will this effect the Elemental Nations, can the shinobi world handle a Naruto who is smarter than canon.
1. Chapter 1

THE MANNED GENIN

Posted: 09-03-2014

Summary:

Naruto receives training from the unlikeliest place early. How will this effect the Elemental Nations, can the shinobi world handle a Naruto who is smarter than canon.

Chapter 1 : An Old Man's Regret.

(Somewhere near Konohagakure no Sato )

The old man stood on the boulder he was so familiar with. This boulder, the same on which he and his team mates used to sprawled on after every mission they completed. On which they familiarize with each other, played, learned, and teased. The same boulder on which he swore to become a great Shinobi.

He found it more and harder to recall the words exchanged between himself and his genin teammates. Sitting down, he unstrapped the wok on his back, laying it beside him. From his vantage point the proud shinobi village of Konohagakure spread to the horizons.

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. 'Tobirama sama, I hope I'm still upholding the will of fire', he thought to himself.

His thoughts wander, as appropriate of his age. Looking to the left of the massive boulder on which he sat, he could see the faint mark he made. The mark signifying his promise,' Forever a genin, serving the village from the shadows. No praise, no honor would be his. His would be a death forgotten. None would shed tears in his memory'.

..

…

….

Ah yes, his thoughts wander. Fifty two years ago, or was it fifty three…

Graduating from the academy with a genius title. Even amongst the many clan children in his year. Even Hiruzen sempai , the undisputed genius of several years before him praised him on the training grounds on the rare occasions they met.

But..

Those titles, those praises and admirations. How little they valued on the battlefield.

Falling for a simple trap… No, he thought to himself, not simple. It was a well placed trap, easily Jonin level. The bait were low ranking ninja, maybe chunin. Rushing ahead of his teammates, eager for a fight, he easily bested them with taijutsu alone. When his friends caught up to him, the two enemy nin suddenly retreated from the clearing the had carried out their poor ambush to the tree line behind them..

And him, thinking his chance to capture two enemy nin slipping away raced after them. Even ignoring the shouts of their chunin captain. As soon as his two preys disappeared into the trees, the situation reversed. Predator became prey.

Dozens of Kunai flashed out from the trees. He dodged many, deflecting a few with his own kunai. But they weren't enough. Before he could retreat to the safety of the rocks on the clearing. He felt a sharp pain behind his left thigh. And before he knew it, he was as vulnerable as a lamb before a lion. Lying face first on the ground, his back exposed to the who knows how many enemy nin behind him.

Kosuke! He could hear Lee's voice. Landing beside him, his kunai out in a guard grip and facing the enemy. He turned his face to his friend; he could see the side of his head. Lee's shoulders were tight, ready for a fight. But he knew, he knew from the hours training with his friend. From the missions they had already done. Lee was afraid.

Lee! Get back to the others! He hoarsely shouted. But, before Lee could mouth his reply. A mud wall sprouted before him; providing a thin layer of protection between them and the enemy. Surprised, he looked forward to his chunin captain, his hands were in the finishing seal of the mud wall jutsu he just casted. Relived, he hoped the jutsu would buy them time to retreat. How wrong he was.

He could hear the soft thuds of metal hitting the hard mud behind him. Shit!

Move! Move! Lee shouted; grabbing him, preparing for a big leap. Then….. BOOOM!

.

..

…

….

From his sitting position, the old man shed a tear. Then, in a flash a kunai appeared in his hands from his holster. Moving to his left, he sat again in front of the faint carving. He retraced the faint marks with his kunai; his symbol for renewing his promise.

He would do this often. Every time he would return to his home, before he entered the village he would visit this boulder, retrace the marking and repeat his promise 'forever a genin'.

'Lee, Komura, Hayamo taicho. I will see you soon… Have you forgiven this foolish soul…. Are you waiting for me'… He shed another tear.

This was his ritual. Every time he returned home, he would repeat this over and over. Then, he stood; returned to his original position and sat again. This was the place he sat when he was with his team. From the moment they became a team to the day they left for their last mission, this was where he sat. Serious Lee to his left, and Komura the joker further to his right.

The memories came again, the ones that had haunted him to this day.

.

..

…

….

That day, the day he woke up to his nightmares..

Can you hear me genin?... He could faintly hear… God! Why is it ringing so loud?

'Can you hear me genin?... Wait whaat? Who calls fellow shinobi by their rank, and why is his voice lacking emotion', he thought. When the ringing died down he opened his eyes. Or at least tried to. He immediately closed them again, fuck that stings. After the stinging subsided he heard the same voice.

Can you hear me genin?

'Yes, I can hear you' he said. Opening his eyes he saw a porcelain mask.. ANBU, he let out a breath. So he was safe. He wasn't captured, wasn't made to reveal his mission or secrets; however meager they may be from a genin; to the enemy. He was safe.

'But wait! What was ANBU doing here? Why am I lying on my back?'.. He tried to sit up then he remembered. His thigh, the kunai, then a hand on his chest pushed him back down.' I'm almost finished genin ' said the ANBU. In his act of defiance hi raised his head, he could see the glowing right hand of the ANBU healing him.

So that's why there's no pain, he healed me. Then he remembered.' Lee?, Komura?, Hayamo taicho?, how are they?' He asked. Seeing no expression from the ANBU he corrected himself.. 'Stupid, the ANBU wouldn't know teammates by name', he thought to himself. He asked again..' my team? How are they? Were member of the courier service, three genin and a chunin. Where are my team?' He asked in detail.

In the back of his mind he knew he blew it. Disobeying a captain; breaking formation etc.. he was going to get it. But if his team was safe, he could live with whatever punishment his way.

The ANBU didn't answer immediately.. 'Stupid ANBU' he thought. 'Trying to drill the point home no doubt'; he thought. 'I already know I messed up, it wouldn't happen again. Besides, I'll never hear the end of this form Komura. I can see it now, hell blab about how the genius messed up, sheesh!.'

The ANBU finished the healing, stopped the jutsu and stood. He faced him and said, 'can you stand up genin?'. Without replying he stood up, 'no point in arguing with an emotionless mask' he thought. He stood straight, stretched a little and replied,' yeah, I guess I'm all fixed up, thanks'. Looking around him for the first time he could see four other ANBU round him; keeping a perimeter. There should be other ANBU I can't see no doubt. He tried to analyze his surrounding, where were they .

Then he looked the ANBU who healed him, he could see it was a striped cat mask. 'Where are my teammates? ', he asked.

The ANBU didn't answer .

He was a little worried now. 'Hey, where are my teammates?'.

~Chapter End~


	2. Forever a Genin

THE MANNED GENIN

Posted: 09-03-2014

Updated : 10-03-2014

Summary:

Naruto receives training from the unlikeliest place early. How will this affect the Elemental Nations, can the shinobi world handle a Naruto who is smarter than canon.

Chapter 2 : Forever a Genin.

The ANBU still showed no sign of any emotion. Kosuke, thinking it was a sign that nothing bad happened stopped his barrage of questions and calmed down.

Sure, he knew ANBU rarely showed any emotions. But in a time like this; the first shinobi war, the ANBU would show little emotion if he was to tell him something bad had happened. Besides, they were just courier service, not part of any of the real fighting in the war, nothing bad was suppose to happen to lowly ninjas of the courier service right?.

_Genin, do you remember what happened?_

There it is, that irritating emotionless voice.

'_My name is Kosuke, and yes; I remember what happened...umm…. some of it anyway'._

_I know your name genin, Kosuke Maruboshi; member of the courier service team 43, assigned to the commando units Tora-3 and Inu-13 patrolling the surrounding area. What I want to know is genin, what happened? _Asked the ANBU with a more serious demeanor.

Kosuke looked at the ANBU with both annoyance and shock. Annoyed because the cat masked ANBU knew his name, team number and the units his team was assigned to. And shocked, because if the ANBU already knew his name, that means they were out here specifically for him and his team. Something bad happened, but he was fine; which means..

'_**Where is my team?'**__, _He half shouted, half begged.

'_Genin, do you remember your mission parameters?'. _Asked the ANBU with the same emotionless voice.

Kosuke's thoughts ran. And piled the information he already knew inside his head. '_Okay'_, he thought. 'Firstly_Were member of the courier service bringing mission scrolls, orders and domestic letters for our assigned units. We never know the contents of the scrolls save of commanding chunin who, in case the danger of said scrolls falling into enemy hand arise and the scrolls had to be destroyed. But be that as it may, those scrolls are encrypted and never contain information above C grade secrecy. Anything above C grade is delivered directly by ANBU or through other means. So, his team being ambushed wasn't for information, that much was clear. So why?'. _But before his could continue his train of thoughts the ANBU repeated.

'_Genin, do you remember your mission parameters?'._

_Yes. _He replied. _'Deliver package to commando team Tora-3, wait for reply. Do not engage enemy if sighted.'_

'_Genin' , _said the ANBU. _'Your team is dead, and your chunin captain is missing, probably captured or deflected'. _He paused, looked at Kosuke; then continued._ 'We were sent for a rescue or retrieval mission if worse came to pass. Tora-3 was ambushed also. The survivors were able to make their way back to one of the southern base. And since it was later revealed courier team-43 had already dispatched for delivery mission for the commando team. _

_So we were sent, by Hokage-sama himself. We found what remained of your team, your teammates' body is already at the base. You however were in a critical condition and couldn't be moved, so we healed you first, you've been unconscious for 26 hours '. _Finished the ANBU

_**WHAT?!.**_

'_From what we were able to deduce from the scene of your ambush, your fell victim to one of the Iwa nin commando unit. And from all the craters left behind, grade-5 explosive tags were used. A lot of it.' _He paused. Then continued,_'Genin, what happened'._

Kosuke told the ANBU what he recalled from his endeavor, how he was made captain for this particular mission for his experience. He was one of the prime candidate for chunin promotion. He told his tale, the ANBU once or twice telling him to catch a breath as he became erratic.

When it was over Kosuke asked sobbing. _'Can I see them?'._

The ANBU answered,' _once we get to base yes. Hokage-sama would want a debrief as well'._

So they made their way towards the base. It was one of three bases in this area, and as it was the biggest, a make shift hospital was established here. Also, it was from here that supplies were distributed to the two other bases.

As the base became nearer and nearer, Kosuke's heart increased its pounding. He could hazily recall how he got there. And how he was now face to face with the Nidaime Hokage Tobirama Senju himself. But there he was, face to face with the hokage, five metres or so between them. To the side was two bodies covered in separate sheets.

The hokage spoke. _'I thought you would want this to be private. The medical tent is full with Tora-3 in the condition they are your goodbyes Kosuke, then join me over there near the cliff's edge'. _Then he walked away.

Kosuke walked to the two covered bodies, his movements were sluggish. Slowly he removed both covers at the head..

'_Lee, Komura', _he mumbled softly.

Then the dam he's been suppressing broke; no sound escaped his lips. But the tears flowed and flowed.

With his tears dried up he stood _'goodbye', _ he whispered to both his friends. And made his way towards the waiting hokage.

It was awkward, both remained silent. The hokage faced the edge with his back turned to him. Kosuke, not knowing what to say remained silent.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity. The hokage spoke.

'_I was not your fault Kosuke, tragedies are a part of war', _he said_._

Kosuke, his legs no longer able to support him, fell to his knees and told what had happened. How he was made captain that day, the enemy decoy, everything… He choked up, paused; then continued. '_It was my fault, I was the captain. It was my orders that killed them. I should never had taken point, I was so stupid. All I thought about was my promotion to chunin, I killed my team', _He sobbed, his tears returning.

'_Chunin…. Chunin.. That was all I thought about'. _He continued through the tears.

'_I don't deserve the title. No, I will remain genin'. _ He declared.

'_Do not make such decisions in your condition Kosuke. Your future lies ahead of you'. _Said the Hokage. Tough he did not show it, his heart was broken for the young boy in front of him.

'_No, I deserve it, it's my punishment as a failure'. _Kosuke said with finality.

Tobirama, not knowing what to do whispered to himself. _'Brother, what would you do in this situation?'._

It took a moment, but the hokage made up his mind. He raised his hand and two ANBU appeared kneeling. _'Seal the bodies. Send them home along with Tora-3's casualties'. _He ordered.

'_Hai, hokage-sama'. _Replied both ANBU. They sealed the bodies and disappeared via sunshin.

'_Kosuke you would not change your mind? You would remain genin forever?'. _ He asked the young boy.

'_Yes'. _Was the boy's reply.

'_Then come, I will teach you how survive your self- banishment. Follow me, ill beat mu jutsu's into you'. _ Said the hokage and leapt off the cliff.

~Chapter End~


	3. Meeting the boy

THE MANNED GENIN

Posted: 09-03-2014

Updated : 15-03-2014

Summary:

Naruto receives training from the unlikeliest place early. How will this affect the Elemental Nations, can the shinobi world handle a Naruto who is smarter than canon.

Chapter 2 : Meeting the boy.

Kosuke stared at the kanji hi had re-marked. _'In a way I guess I am like that kid Kakashi',_ he sighs.

It was true. Both men had lost their loved ones, but unlike those who had lost the same. What made them unique was that both were the ipso facto leader of their team should anything happen to separate them from their sensei or was killed. Both men could still not find it in their hearts to forgive themselves. And both had the spooky habit of taking to the dead.

He took a deeps breath, exhales, picked up his discarded tools, then stood. Ready to make his way to Konoha he looked at the kanji a last time and whispered the words, 'A shinobi is one who indures'.

As he was about to leap onto the branch of the tree nearest to the boulder. He heard a loud cry. At first he thought someone was in trouble, trying to find the direction of the cry he listened more closely.

'_Arrrrgh'_. He heard the cry again. _'Hmm.. A child.. Frustrated.. in no present danger',_ he concluded. But thinking to check it out nonetheless.

But again, before he could make his move, from the corner of the forest path that was visible from where he stood, out ran a child. From his vantage point on top of the boulder, it was hard to make out the child's age and stature. The boulder stood near the top a steep hill on the foot of which the path was located.

As he watched the child through the trees that obstructed him from having a clear view, he could faintly make out his bold hair, white T-shirt, black pants and sandals.

'_Arrrrrgh… Shit! I've got to be faster', _shouted the boy and disappeared through the other corner of the path.

'_What in Kami is that boy up to, _Is he crazy or something', thought Kosuke. Somehow, in a way unknown to him, the child intrigued him. Having decided to find out about the boy, he followed him through the branches. Keeping a distance least the boy should see him, yet near enough that he could take a better look.

Finally, after three to four miles of close pursuit the child reached his destination. As he neared the foot of a small ascending terrain, he increased his speed. Ran straight to a large pine tree, took out something from his pants pocket and marked the tree with a horizontal slash.

Kosuke landed at the branch of one of the many other pine trees near the child. Taking a closer look, he could see a kunai at the child's left hand, a stopwatch at the other. Also, the child was about 6-7 years old, had blond hair that had an eerie resemblance to the deceased Yondaime Hokage.

'_Dammit, dammit…. Still not fast enough'_, he cursed. The child fell to his knees, his back to Kosuke. and had a dejected look in his posture and cried.

Kosuke got curiouser and curiouser. What would a child, no older than 7 do in a seldom travelled forest path,7 miles out of Konoha. And training to run faster no less. Yes, it intrigued him. Also, he could see that the child had completely recovered from his run. No signs of fatigue, no heavy panting. _'Either he is a genin or a clan child, either way, what a stamina freak for his age. But why the tears?', _he thought .

Finally, Kosuke thought he would meet the boy. Landing in a soft thud near the child, he clears his throat. _'Ahem'._

The child, clearly surprised. Quickly turned and wiped his eyes and spoke. '_Who are you?'. _He asked.

Using a grandfatherly tone appropriate to his age, and to appear least intimidating to the child Kosuke answered. '_ Mah mah.. child, don't be afraid. Im just an old man on my way to Konoha. I was passing through when I heard you and thought I'd see what was the matter'._

'_Oh! Sorry, I didn't realize I was so loud, I thought nobody comes here so I guessed I could be as loud as wanted'. _The child said politely.

'_Not to worry, you didn't bother me one bit. So? Are you going to tell me why you were crying?'. _Kosuke asked. The child brought out his grandfatherly side without him trying.

When he first saw the child's face. He thought he was an Inuzuka because of his whiskers like marking, and he was just having a bad day in the family. But as he saw the child more closely, and his features, the feral signs that describe the Inuzuka wasn't there.

'_Sorry, but I'm not suppose to talk to strangers', _replied the child with an innocent look.

'_Oh! How stupid of me, my name is Marubosi Kosuke, I am a genin of Konoha returing from my mission', _Kosuke said with a smile. _' Now that I'm not a stranger anymore, can you tell me your name?, _he continued.

'_**You're a ninja jiji!'**__, _the boy shouted with a surprised look. Then apologized, _'Sorry, I shouted again dattebayo. My name is Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto'._

'_That's okay, most people are surprised at me being a ninja'. _Koske replied._ 'Now, could you tell me what's wrong?, I was surprised that a young man like you had to cry like that. Out here in the middle of the forest no less, where are your parents?', _Kosuke asked with a look of sympathy.

'_I don't have any parents, they died when I was born. I stay at the orphanage with the other children'. _Naruto replied. After a short pause, _'yesterday, some ninja came and looked at the children. They said some of us could train to be ninja for free.. They said if we have chatora'.. 'Chakra,' _Kosuke interrupted.

'_What?'_

'_It's called Chakra, they were testing you if you had chakra. You'll need it if you want to become a ninja… But please, continue'. _Kosuke said.

'_Okay. Well, they were testing of we had chato..chakra. And I wasn't there when it happened. Some of the others passed their exam.. Even Kenji. Now he's mocking me because I've always wanted to be a ninja. Now I can't and he's going to be one.. dammit'. _Said Naruto with a dejected look.

'_I see'. _Kosuke nodded understandingly. Back when he was a boy, training to be a ninja was easy. You just go to the academy, do a physical exam and if your fit; that's it. Back then practically anyone can be a ninja. But after the first and second shinobi war it was made clear. A well trained ninja could take out dozens of mediocre ones. '_Quality over quantity', _they said.

After the second shinobi was Konoha revised it's teaching method. And numbers of genin in a team was reduced to three. Jounins teaching tree genin was found to be the most effective, both in training and team coordination. It was highly effective in the second shinobi war.

Under the new system, those that receive the passing grade in the academy were placed under jounin sensei. Those that didn't were sent to the militia, a sort of boot camp for remedial training. After that, if the pass the militia training, they were part of the general military ninja. Under chunin sensei's they did the lowly, less shiny works. Although they also had chances to be promoted, even reaching jounin, it was that much more harder. Firstly, they were tough by chunin. Secondly, they never had time to train much. Working in the factory, delivering supplies to and from other parts of fire country, maintaining the training grounds, etc. And third, the most important. They weren't allowed to participate in the chunin exam.

Why? Think of it this way. The chunin exams are chances to show off, chances for villages to show _'hey! Look how_ bad ass our genin are. Our training program rocks. If our genin are this strong, think how much stronger our chunin and jounin must be'. And for this reason, genin who failed the academy, taught by chunin were put aside as they always fail to shine in the chunin exam. Compared to those taught jounin senseis, they had less form, less technique, and had a higher fatality rate.

But this system had a setback. It was expensive, and it produce lesser number of graduate per each academic term. So in order to ensure maximum output, choosing candidates for genin was done carefully. Of course, clan children were never rejected by the academy. Why? They were trained from early age. Always had the most chakra, and were easy to train.

For those children from civilian family and orphanages. They were selected more carefully. The academy had a fee. One would think training ninjas in a ninja village should be free but it wasn't. being peace time. Mission rates decreased, hence revenue. So a monthly fee was introduced after the third shinobi war, and it was costly.

For this reason, children from civilian family and orphanages had sponsors. Some from clans, a large bulk from the village budget. For this reason, healthy children having moderate chakra. Having no terminal illness, etc, were selected.

Returning from his train of thoughts Kosuke asked the boy. _'Naruto, why do you want to become a ninja?'._

'_Eh?.. well.. Ninjas are cool, and powerful. I want to be as powerful as them', _Naruto replied.

Kosuke's eyes narrowed a little. With what he had in mind for the boy he needed to be careful. So he asked again. _'What will you do when he have power?'._

Naruto looked lost. He had never thought of it like that. _What would he do?... What would he do?._

After a few moments of deep thought. He looked Kosuke straight at the eye and answered.

'_I'll become a Hokage everyone will respect. I'll protect everyone. I'll make it so everyone wouldn't have to lose their parents'.._

Kosuke was stunned. This coming from a child. He was sure now, he would help this boy be a ninja. He looked at the boy the same way his own sensei used to look at him all those years ago. He knew this decision would change his and the boys life, but he was never so sure of anything in his life. Then he said to the boy.

'_Naruto, if you still stand to your words when you sleep tonight. Meet me here again tomorrow, I will help you.'_ He paused,_ ' and bring lunch' _he continued.

Naruto couldn't believe it. His dream, his sole aim in life could still happen. He could become a ninja. There was only one thing left to say to that.

'_Yatta! Thanks jiji, you won't regret it_'.

~Chapter End~


	4. Negotiating with the Hokage

THE MANNED GENIN

Posted: 09-03-2014

Updated : 16-03-2014

Summary:

Naruto receives training from the unlikeliest place early. How will this affect the Elemental Nations, can the shinobi world handle a Naruto who is smarter than canon.

***** Before I begin I'd like to point out a few things. First, English is not my native dialect so the spelling mistakes I've made will be corrected when I hit the 10****th**** chapter mark. Also, I've never heard about naruto till my first semester at college. My roommate was a Naruto nut and he introduced me to the naruto-verse last year and I've been addicted ever since. I'm enjoying my holidays now so ill try to write as much as I can before class begin.**

**In this fanfic I won't be giving naruto any bloodline limit, demon summoning, etc. I'll twist the cannon story while still keeping as close to it as possible. Also, Naruto won't be super strong from the start. Well he will be stronger than the average genin but he'll be more or less near Sasuke's level. So here's a new chapter, enjoy.**

Chapter 4 : Negotiating with the Hokage.

Kosuke poked the fire with his stick hoping his stew would cook faster. The ingredients he added were starting to show their mouth watering aroma, _damm! _He thought to himself, _'I'm a good cook', _then he stirred the stew for last time before putting a lid on it.

He always came to this spot while staying in the Leaf village. After he submitted his mission report, stock up on his supplies and saw a few old friends he'd come to this spot and set up camp. You see, he never actually stay inside the village anymore. Outside the village walls, near the edge of the last training ground to the north of the village which was near a small river was where he preferred to rest while his stay in Konoha.

Putting down the spoon he used to stir the stew, he sensed a person to his back several metres in the tress around the clearing he set up camp. Slowly he readied his right hand for the kunai hidden in his sleeve. He had a hunch who this person was, but you can't be too careful right.

Then the intruder spoke. _'Mind if I join you for your delicious stew old friend?', _he said. Kosuke smiled, turning to the person he answered. _'Of course, Hokage-sama'._

The person, now identified as Sarutobi Hiruzen. Sandaime Hokage of The Village Hidden In The Leaves; had a light scowl in his face. _'We have known each other long enough to do without the honorifics old friend', _he said. Joining Kosuke near the fire, he performed a quick earth jutsu to create something to sit on.

While enjoying the hot stew the made light chatter. Horizon updating the on goings of the village to Kosuke while the latter shared his adventures of other villages and the outside world as a whole. Although he already knew the answer Hiruzen asked his long time friend a well asked question.

'_So, will you be staying for keeps this time?. I could use your help in the administration department '. _He asked already knowing the answer.

'_Hmm, you never give up do you?'. _Kosuke answered. The two of them spoke freely with each other. Though Horizon was the supreme commander of all inhabitants in the village, and Kosuke being just a lowly genin. They help each other reminisce about the past.

For Kosuke. Hiruzen was someone he'd always looked up to. From the first time they met in the training grounds as teenagers to this day. He was someone he could share his worries, his joy, and his wishes for the future. Being older than him by five years, Horizon was the older brother he never had.

And for Hiruzen, Kosuke was one of the few people his own age he could talk to. Though he would never admit it out loud. He thought Kosuke was one of the people that never let their will-of-fire weaver. Also, with Kagami* and Torifu* being deceased. And Danzo, Homura and Koharu being ghosts of people they once were, Kosuke was the very few people left for a decent conversation. Besides, he enjoyed Kosuke's cooking.

They ate in silence. Once or twice one of them was breaking the silence with idle chit chat. Then Kosuke announced, _'I'll be staying longer than I normally do, maybe about four to five months. Jiraiya asked me to accompany him in one of his infiltration, I think you already know the details'._

Hiruzen gave a small nod to Kosuke. Then a thought hit him.

'_You've never stayed this long in the village. Even between mission you usually prefer to visit elsewhere, are you up to something?'. _He jokingly asked.

Kosuke sighs. Leave it to Hiruzen sempai. As observant as ever, you can't get anything past him.

'_You've always asked me to do something while I stay in the village. I thought I'd obey my sempai this once'. _He answered with a slight mock. Hiruzen was lost, _'what could he be up to?'. _He thought to himself. Then he looked at Kosuke with a look that said _'please continue'._

Kosuke smiled. It was one of those rare moments he manage to baffle Hiruzen sempai.

I just woke up one morning and thought, _'I'm not getting any younger. It's time I pass on my will-of-fire'_ . He said cryptically.

Hiruzen, being one of the most; if not the sharpest mind in his generation deduced his meaning quickly. He gave a warm smile to his old friend.

'_So? Who's the lucky genin? And what could possibly persuade you after all those years of me asking you to teach? Come on, tell me… This much suspense could kill a man my age'. _

'_Not a genin. It's a boy, no older than seven. He's not even in the academy'. _He answered Hiruzen.

'_The name?'. _Hiruzen asked, now genuinely curious.

'_He's an orphan, still in the orphanage. You might know him, he's called Uzumaki Naruto. And i saw the will-of-fire burning brightly in him', _repliedKosuke.

'_Uzumaki Naruto... Uzumaki Naruto...' _Hiruzen pondered the name. Then he remembers, Uzumaki Naruto, almost seven years old, notorious prankster...Whenever he thinks about Naruto and other children around Naruto's age, Hiruzen's thoughts go back that night., almost seven years ago., on the 8th of October. The night he lost his successor, the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato.

.

..

...

...

He remembers working in his office, at the Sarutobi clan's home.

He remembers the demonic chakra suddenly appearing, almost suffocating his senses.

He remembers the carnage, the destruction, the hundreds that died.

He remembers fighting the Kyuubi.

He remembers the Fouth's space time jutsu sucking in the bijudama. After that, the giant fox being teleported away.

He remembers worrying for Minato, his wife Kushina, and their unborn child.

He remembers finding Minato and Kushina dead, side by side. Inside a **Fūinjutsu** circle, with scorched gaping holes in their stomachs.

He remembers concluding that Minato and Kushina had resealed the Kyuubi. And in the end, seeing that it was impossible to successfully seal it. Taking it with them in death, the Kyuubi to be reformed a generation later.

He remembers weeping for Minato, Kushina, and their unborn child. Who was Probably incinerated from the contact with the Kyuubi that left a gaping hole in Kushina's stomach.

He remembered the many orphans- Teenagers, small children, toddlers, and new born babies.

He remembers the many deformed babies. Born on that night and the many months after, deformed by the Kyuubi's demonic chakra while inside their mother's wombs. Babies born without heads, born with multiple heads, both with fox like furs, born with claws, fangs, born with fox ears... so much tragedy.

He remembers Uzumaki Naruto. Found at the hospital nursery ward, no one claiming him to be theirs, no one knowing how he got there.

He remembers the blanket that covered the blond infant. _'U. Naruto', _being sewed on it. And not being able to figure out what the 'U' stands for

He remembers that blond infant being named Uzumaki Naruto. In honor of the lost Uzumaki clan.

Yes, he remembers October the 8th, six and a half years ago.

Yes, he remembers the tragedy.

.

..

...

...

It took only seconds for Hiruzen to recall these things. After Straightening his posture, he cleared his throat; forced a smile on his face and said..

'_Yes, i know Uzumaki Naruto. He's our resident prankster, always up to mischief here and there. You're going to get a handful with that one'. _Said the Hokage.

'_What are your plans for the boy? Asked the hokage. Are you taking him as your apprentice?'. _ The Hokage continued.

Kosuke's face became serious. He looked at the small fire that was still burning.

'_I don't know what our relationship will be, but he will not be my apprentice. I just don't have the time to stay around that much for that. I plan to teach him bit by bit every time I'm around, even just to protect himseld, and if possible; introduce him to the shinobi program._

_I heard the academy was already full so i didn't bother to ask you to let him be enrolled somehow. With that being said. Will it be possible to enroll him in the genin program?. But under my tutelage instead of a jounin. And maybe take the chunin exam. I know it's not the normal procedure, but there's something about this kid. I want him to shine with the other genins, not stuck in the shadows in the militia.' _ Kosuke finished.

The hokage was stunned. For Kosuke, a talented ninja of the leaf. Easily as talented as many of the jounins in the village to be smitten by a mere by a mere boy.

''_Hmm'_ he thought out loud. He knew it was possible. It was under his power as the hokage to do so. And Kosuke, being as famous a he was made Naruto's case to be easy. Jounins and veterans who had worked with Kosuke praised or thought highly of him, so it would be easy to get their votes for Naruto.

'_I will take care of Naruto's case for you', _Hiruzen said. _''But', _he continued. his sly side coming to play.

'_You have to agree something for me', _Hiruzen said with a smirk.

Kosuke gulped, he didn't like where this was heading. But gave a small nod to his sempai.

'_After your mission with Jiraiya, no more A rank mission or above. I'll agree with you not wanting a promotion, but you'll get a jounin's salary with every mission you do from now on. Also, during your stay in the village, you'll help with my paperwork from time to time '. _Hiruzen said.

Kosuke just sat there, grumping time to time about lazy hokages and their hate for paperwork. But he had to admit it. The conditions were fair, he could live with it. Besides, he was getting too old for high ranking missions.

'_Agreed'. _ He answered the hokage. Then they both laughed out loud.

The next day, the sun was the same as it was the previous day. The sky was clear, sunny with a little humidity. It was a typical weather in fire country.

Sitting under the shade of the pine tree where he met Naruto yesterday, Kosuke was waiting for Naruto, sitting with his legs crossed in deep meditation. And not long after, said boy showed up, running full speed as he did yesterday, minus the watch.

Then Naruto reached where Kosuke sat, took large gulps or air and said. _'sorry i'm late jiji, but we forgot to say which time yesterday', _he blurted between breaths.

Kosuke opened his eyes, stood before Naruto and said. _'Naruto, from today onwards you shall call me sensei or Kosuke sensei'. _Seeing Naruto pull back a little, he smiled, _'or jiji will do just fine'. _He added.

'_Today, you will start training to be a shinobi Naruto, so be ready. The road will be long and harsh, filled with sweat, blood and tears. There will be times when you just want to quit and be done with it. But i tell you this. Persevere, and you will succeed. Persevere, and you will be a great ninja, even a Hokage'. _Kosuke said, meaning every word.

'Yosh! I never give up. That's my way of the ninja!

'_**I'll be the hokage in no time! Dattebayo!',**_Naruto declared.

~Chapter End~

_***Uchiha Kagami and Akimichi Torifu were in the Nidaime's team with Hiruzen in the second shinobi war. They appeared in both manga and anime.**_

**Please review**


	5. Chakra and Chakra Theory

THE MANNED GENIN

Posted: 09-03-2014

Updated : 17-03-2014

Summary:

Naruto receives training from the unlikeliest place early. How will this affect the Elemental Nations, can the shinobi world handle a Naruto who is smarter than canon.

***** Yosh!. People are reading my story. He he.. I must confess. I'm a vivid reader myself ever since i discovered this site. And you might not believe it, i can easily relate to the narutoverse. You see, i come from the north east tribal state of India. And before 1889, that when the British came, we were still living in clans. Constantly at war with each other for land and dominance.. But enough chit chat.,here's the new chapter..**

Chapter 5 : Chakra and Chakra Theory.

Kosuke was lying on the grond on his butt, starring in shock at the young enigma in front of him. How?... How the heck does this kid have so much chakra.

'_This! This feeling. It was the same as back then.. Tobirama sensei. This kid might have as much chakra as Tobirama sensei'. _He thought with his eyes wide in shock..

.

..

...

...

(Ten minutes ago)

'_Naruto', _Kosuke said. Getting the kid's attention. _'In order to become a shinobi, chakra is the most important. Without chakra, becoming a shinobi is almost impossible'_.

'_You said almost sensei, does that mean you can be a ninja without chakra'. _Naruto interrupted his sensei.

Kosuke, clearly not liking being interrupted. Looked at Naruto with a promise of pain. Reaching behind his back with quick hands he pulled out something and then...

_Bonk!_

Right on Naruto's head, a wooden hammer impacted leaving a sizeable lump. From the look of the hammer, you could tell it was recently carved.

'_Never interrupt me again',_ said Kosuke strictly. 'Now where was i, oh yes. There are a number of ninja out there who can't use chakra, even here in our own village. But they still have chakra mind you, they just can't mold it effectively enough to use jutsu. You'll learn about them as you get older'. Kosuke finished.

Naruto, still holding his head from the pain looked at his sensei. Not knowing how to respond he simply gave a muffled '_Okay'._

'_In the academy', _Kosuke said then paused. Daring Naruto to interrupt again, then continued. _'If the student hadn't been already introduced to chakra, that is if they don't come from clans or shinobi parents. The teachers will introduce their own chakra into their body. This is done so the student can access their own chakra from the memory of the chakra introduced to their body. Their body remembers the feeling and searches for chakra in itself, hence activating it._

_I'll be doing the same to you, lift up your shirt and show your belly'._

Naruto complied and showed his belly. Kosuke closed his eyes, reached out and touched Naruto's belly with his out stretched palm. Forcing minute amount af chakra into the boy.

'_Can you feel it?'_. Kosuke asked.

'_No'_, was the immediate reply.

'_hmm, close your eyes Naruto, an focus. Try to find your center, if you can do that. You'll find my chakra. it will have a feeling of something foreign, something that doesn't belong in your body. ' _He said again.

'_I still can't feel it sensei'_, was again the reply.

'_Naruto, look at me', _Kosoke said, removing his hand form Naruto and making a seal.

'_This'_, he said. _'This is the most common hand seal you'll ever see. It called the __Tairitsu no In. It is used mainly to concentrate on your chakra, i want you to make this seal then we'll continue'. _Kosuke said, showing Naruto how to make the seal.

When he was about to continue his chakra transfer he had a thought._ 'What if?'_

Then he pumped in six times the chakra he originally pumped into Naruto.

Before he was about to ask again Naruto spoke,

'_I can feel it sensei, your chakra... Wow! This is amazing',_ said the boy. Kosuke stopped the transfer. He was slightly between awe and worry. I it takes this much chakra for the boy to feel it. It means either two things

One, the boy had undeveloped chakra coils. As the chakra transfer was done right at the belly, where the chakra center of the body was located, Naruto should have been able to sense it quickly.

And two, the boy had more well developed chakra coils than those of his age group. Meaning he had more chakra volume. That was why he was not able to sense so meager amount of chakra before.

'_Might as well continue'_ thought Kosuke. 'Naruto, I want you to concentrate, form the seal I showed you. You already know what chakra feels like, try to find it in yourself', He said.

Before Naruto could do so he continued, 'Don't fret if you don't get it right in the first try. Just try t call out your chakra, as much as you can', he finished.

Kosuke stood in front of the boy, praying for him to have proper chakra coils for this to work. Then, it happened.

At first it was quiet, a soft sound like a gentle breeze. After that, i was like a dam being burst.

.

..

...

...

It took a moment for Kosuke to compose his thoughts. '_So much chakra' _was the mantra still at the back of this mind.

'_It will be easier to teach him'. _He thought.

From the moment he agreed to teach Naruto to before this, he was worried. He kept thinking what or how he was going to teach the boy. With the limited time he had and will be having. The boy will need to soak up information like a sponge. Also, Kosuke didn't know what to teach him above the academy basics.

Sure, he was considered a genius in his younger days.

Sure, he knew a good number of jutsus. Some he learned from legends in the village. Other he learned in his travels, from either his many friends in other villages or through less honorable means. But he didn't know the general genin level jutsus of this generation.

And he didn't want Naruto's growth to suffer, because as they got older and have more chakra, other children will be helped by either the parents or senseis. He doubted they'll have time for Naruto, or himself, he won't be around forever to teach him at those times.

And the biggest 'But' of all. All of the jutsus he knew were very chakra costly. Nothing he could teach to children Naruto's age.

But this, this changed everything. This he could work with.

There was a saying – 'There are no shortcuts to being a great ninja'. Kosuke agreed to this wholeheartedly.

But, there was shortcut to learning ninjutsu. Especially for chakra freaks like this boy.

He was brought out of his thoughts by his student's voice.

'_Can i stop now sensei?' . _Asked the boy.

Kosuke was shocked, the boy was still releasing chakra.

'_Naruto stop! Stop right now!', _he cried. Silently cursing himself for letting his thoughts wander.

'_How do you feel Naruto?'_ he asked worriedly. Taking a quick check of the boy's temperature and pulse.

Naruto seeing the old man was worried about him quickly replied, _'I'm fine jiji, just a little tired. It's like I've been running full speed to get here again, I'll be fine'. _He reassured the old man.

The relief was visible on Kosuke's face. Putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder he smiled at Naruto.

'_Remember when you said you were going to become the Hokage?'_, he asked. Naruto nodded.

'_I believe you'_, Kosuke said. Then they both smiled.

The afternoon of the day found the both of them sitting, each facing the other and both cross legged. The sensei teaching the student about hand seals, chakra, and chakra theory. Chakra, the spiritual and physical side was explained by the sensei. When the student didn't understand or had problems, the sensei would explain again, and again, as many time as it took.

There was no voice raised because of the boys curious questions. No, Kosuke knew that children were curious, and should be given proper answers to their questions. If ignored or chastisized for their curiosity, they tend to become introverted and repressed, orphans especially.

As the sun was near setting Kosuke stopped his teachings and told Naruto to go home. Before the boy left he presented him with books and scrolls. The books were new, you could tell from the smell and look. The scrolls were old, as old as the man himself.

Naruto was stunned. He never got presents before. Well, presents that was new that is. Everything he got from the orphanage was either from donations or hand me downs. And he thanked the old man with all his heart.

'_Naruto, I want you to write down all that you've learned today, and what you'll be learing in these books, I'll inspect them to make sure you understand what I teach you. Do you understand?'._ Kosuke said.

'_Now the scrolls, they are about what we learned today, in a more in depth detail. You should memorize everything written in them. Now of you go'. _Kosuke said, dismissing his student.

Naruto nodded and walked away. But before he was beyond hearing distance he turned and said, _'Thanks jii, for everything'_. And ran home at full speed.

Kosuke stared at the corner Naruto disappeared to long after he was gone.

'_I don't think I'll be regretting this at all',_ he thought to himself.

Chapter End~

_*** **__**Tairitsu no In : Seal of Confrontation - This seal is used by many Shinobi. Deidara use this often when he detonate his exploding clays.**_

_**P**_**lease review**


	6. Chakra and Chakra Theory - II

THE MANNED GENIN

Posted: 09-03-2014

Updated : 17-03-2014

Summary:

Naruto receives training from the unlikeliest place early. How will this affect the Elemental Nations, can the shinobi world handle a Naruto who is smarter than canon.

Chapter 6 : Chakra and Chakra Theory - II.

( Kohonagakure Orphanage )

It was the morning after he got his first shinobi training and Naruto was in heaven. He work up early, even before the morning bell.

Though he wasn't much of a morning person he wasn't any drowsiness. He was awake, limber and aware. He got up, went to the bathroom door located far to right. Between the bathroom and his, there were twelve other beds in between.

The boy's dormitory in Konoha's orphanage was a very large room, easily fitting 42 beds, 21 beds facing each other on opposite sides of the room. Some of the beds were single, some were bunk beds. Naruto, being a senior in the orphanage, was soon to leave when he reached age seven.

And because he was a senior, he got to choose the bed he want to sleep in. Well liked by his fellow orphans, especially the juniors, he even got the single bed near a window, the single bed which had the largest trunk attached to it. Bed no. 9 and trunk no.9 were Naruto's, every boy in the orphanage knew that.

Finishing his early morning ritual, he headed to the dining hall. He knew the cooks and some of the volunteers would already be there. But it would be a nice place to review the things he wrote in the book Kosuke gave him.

He never told anyone that he was training to be a ninja.

Never boasted to everyone he knew as he usually did.

Why? Before he missed the potential genin recruitment held in the orphanage. Naruto always boasted what a splendid ninja he would become, how powerful he would be. If that eccentric boy last year; what was his name again, oh yes, Lee; was chosen, they would surely choose him too! He used to say.

However, that was not to be. Being absent the day the ninjas came to the orphanage for reasons he would never say. He was still bitter to the mocking he got, from both orphans and caretakers.

As he reached the dining hall the caretakers were in conversation with each other. Without talking to anyone he grabbed breakfast and headed straight to one of the tables. 'It was far too early in the morning to be teased', he thought to himself.

'Morning Naruto', came a voice, someone was already up and eating breakfast. Looking at the source of the voice he saw Sai, one of his closer friends in the orphanage.

Naruto never felt animosity towards Sai before. But, as Sai got picked and he didn't, he was a little jealous; Ok, he was a lot jealous. But this morning he forced himself to be civil to Sai. After all, Sai was leaving.

Being 5 months older than Naruto meant Sai was already 7 years old. The age children leave the orphanage and live by themselves, or if lucky, live with other orphans in apartments sanctioned by the Village.

'_So, your leaving huh?'_, he asked Sai.

'_Yes'_, came Sai's usual dry reply. Sai wasn't a very talkative person, but you could tell from the tone he was a little sad about leaving.

Before they could talk for long Sai was picked up by some people. _'There he goes', _Naruto thought to himself. He watched Sai following the people, all his possessions in a cloth bag hanging on his shoulder.

'_Goodbye Sai'._ He whispered. Little did he know this would be the last time he saw Sai in a long time.

You see, when children leave the orphanage. They don't generally visit again, being busy and all. If they were ordinary civilians they might visit again. But if they were attending the ninja academy, they don't visit, never. Though, you might bump into them time to time in the village.

~oOo~

(Later that day)

'_This is really good Naruto, you have good grasp of what I taught you yesterday', _Kosuke said.

Naruto beamed at the praise. He was a little worried his sensei would be disappointed and he would get re-acquainted with the wooden hammer.

The Hammer, or as Kosuke liked to call it – 'Naruto's Sempai', was used whenever he did or say something inappropriate, also whenever his verbal antics would show up. And man, **did he hate that hammer.**

After a quick revision Kosuke resumed to teach, picking up from where he left the previous day.

For Kosuke, teaching Naruto was easy. Not because he understood them quickly; no, because he paid his complete attention to his sensei. You could tell just by looking at him, he was immersed in his sensei's words.

It was just like yesterday. Kosuke teaching, Naruto asking.

Then finally. _**'You mean there are 361 of these tenketsu things in our body? wow'**_, Naruto proclaimed. 'Yes Naruto. And listen closely, out of all these 361 points in our body, the ones in our hands are the most sensitive.

'_From the tenketsu point of the body, we can send signal to our body to manipulate chakra as we wish. Also, they are the places through which chakra can exit the body. When we make hand seals, we simulate these points, molding our chakra to the desired state of the jutsu to be used, and release the jutsu through these pionts. Do you understand?'._

Naruto nodded.

'_Naruto, have you ever seen anyone cast a jutsu?'_, he asked.

'_Yeah'_, was the immediate answer . How could he forget the incident that first made him want to be a ninja. It was two year ago, when the shack where the orphanage use for storage caught fire after being struck by lightning. A ninja came and put out the fire by expelling water through his mouth.

'_This one time, when the shack at the orphanage caught fire, a ninja came and put it out by spitting water to it', _Naruto said excitedly.

'_Good, did he make hand signs?'_, Kosuke continued.

'_Yeah, but it so quick, i couldn't see what he was doing'_, replied the boy.

'_Follow me', _Kosuke said. Leading Naruto towards the small stream near their teaching place.

On reaching the stream, Kosuke stood on the flowing water. Did the hand seals slow enough so that Naruto could see it.

'_Tora – Mi – Ne – Mi – Tora'. _He named out each handseals for Naruto.

'_Suiton : Suijinheki', _he called out the jutsu's name. A wall of water formed from the stream.

Naruto stood there, mouth agape.

Then again, forming only the Tora seal he repeated.

'_Suiton : Suijinheki', _this time he didn't name out the jutsu.

'_**Woooow! Super cooolll!' . **_Naruto shouted.

Kosuke walked to Naruto, Motioning him to following him back to their usual spot.

'_There are twelve hand seals that are used in general. Then there are other seal such as - the Tairitsu no in, clan hand seals that are unique to clan jutsus, and other, less used ones. Look carefully, the twelve hand seals._

_U the Rabbit – it adds speed to jutsus._

_Tatsu the Dragon – Raw Power._

_Mi the Snake – Representing the earth._

_Uma the Horse – Stamina._

_Hitsuji the Ram – durability. Lesser power than the dragon._

_Saru the Monkey – Ingenuity, any jutsu this is in is easier to control._

_Tori the Bird – Range to jutsus._

_Inu the Dog – loyalty, jutsus are loyal. Meaning they rarely misfire.' _Kosuke said.

He showed the remaining hand seals with their corresponding meanings.

'_Hand seals aren't just for shows. By joining the tenketsu points in each hands, it makes it easier to mold chakra in the requirement of the jutsu._

_You saw me doing the water jutsu with both many and one hand seal right?'._

Naruto nodded.

'_Each hand seal correspond to a specific condition of chakra in the body. For example, for the Tatsu seal; you focus the chakra center in your belly such that it ripples out, like when you drop something in a still water._

_The combination of each hand seals five life to the jutsu, as you saw. There was already a source of water from the stream. And i use that for my jutsu._

_If there wasn't any water, i would have stored the molded chakra in my lungs. And exhale the water through my mouth', he said._

'_Sensei, you also did it with only one hand seal, how?'_, Naruto asked.

'_Oh that. You see, I'd performed this jutsu countless times and already know the hand seal and chakra state of each seal, only at the last seal, Tora, did i actually made the seal. I used the last hand seal as a focal point to my jutsu, to anchor it._

_It would be possible to do it without that, but; i haven't been able to master it to that level', _Kosuke explained.

The rest of the day went as it did the previous day, and at the end of the day, more scrolls were given to Naruto. Scrolls that contain the various hand seals, and description of Tenketsu points.

'_It want you to be able to do the hand seals as fast as me Naruto, so practice, and don't forget to make notes. Or you'll be seeing your sempai (he takes out the hammer) a lot'_. The old man said with a smile.

Naruto froze when he saw the hammer. He would do exactly as he sensei said and some. It was his dream to be ninja after all, he couldn't afford to do badly here.

Waving goodbye to the old man he disappeared through the woods.

Kosuke let out a breath,_' another day, another lesson learned. Oh well, I better help the conniving old man with his paper work'_, he though.

Chapter End~

**Authors note :**

Thanks to those reading my work, it is much appreciated. The next chapter will have a time skip of four months, Naruto will leave the orphanage to his own apartment, make new friends , etc. So, _Ja Ne._

_**R**_**eview**


	7. First Fight

THE MANNED GENIN

Posted: 09-03-2014

Updated : 26-3-2014

Summary:

Naruto receives training from the unlikeliest place early. How will this affect the Elemental Nations, can the shinobi world handle a Naruto who is smarter than canon.

* * *

Chapter 7: First Fight.

* * *

Looking out from the balcony of his new home Naruto felt ecstatic. Finally! He was independent, to do and go as he pleased.

He couldn't care less if his new home was a rundown building. If there was food, water and electricity he was okay with it. Besides, he was going to be a ninja after all.

'_Gotta learn how to live with the bare necessities'_, he said to himself.

'_And it's not too bad, I got a whole house to myself, __**a whole house!. **__How awesome is that',_ he thought.

'_Uzumaki', _called the petite child welfare officer that took him to this new house.

'_Uraha san' , _Naruto responded, smiling at the female officer. _'This place is freaking awesome, thank you so much for bringing me here', he said._

Uraha looked at Naruto with a faint smile of her own; she always liked how children responded when leaving the orphanage.

'_Now Naruto', _Uraha said, adjusting her glasses. _'Although it may not look it, this building has a string foundation. So, no need to worry about it falling apart. Your apartment had already been fixed with all that you'd need; I've already double checked it. Make sure you do proper maintenance on the pipes and electrical wires.'_

'_I know that. What do you think I am; a child', _said Naruto with a pout.

'_Could have fooled me', _replied the petite woman.

'_Anyway, your kitchen has already been stocked with temporary supplies so you won't go hungry for a while._

_You remember everything from the counseling class yesterday right?', _she asked.

'_Yup. Ahhh. Let's see. I should take my monthly stipend from the C.W.C. so no need to worry about money for a while. If i choose to attend school a small increment would be added to my stipend, if not; I could always work at the newspaper, the cleaners, or any other jobs pre approved by the C.W.C_

_I should go to the hospital every month for check up, and submit the result at your office. You or other officers would drop in once in a while to make sure I'm okay and everything', _that's all, right?.

Uraha nodded. _'So, I'll be off. Take care Uzumaki', _she said moving to the door. Naruto followed her, said goodbye to the petite officer and grinned.

He waited till she disappeared downstairs and out of hearing distance.

'_Finally'_, he shouted. Making a cross seal he called out the _'kage bunshin no jutsu'_ he said.

An identical copy of himself grinned back at him, signaling the jutsu's success.

'_**Let's get this show on the road!', **_he shouted to the clone. '_**Yosh!', **_being the reply.

The rest of the day was spent with himself exploring the rest of the building, and his clone putting everything in place, his meager belongings settled here and there.

Later that day, while eating his cup ramen in the balcony of his new house, Naruto's thoughts were of the old man.

'_Where would he be without Kosuke jiji', _he thought to himself.

The past four months were the best of his life, doing something he always wished he'd be doing. Though not studying in the academy like his dream was, who was he to argue.

He had a sensei, he was learning stuff. And most of all, he already knew a couple of jutsus. Would he be this awesome at the academy? He thought not.

Though, he could do without that blasted hammer. '_His sempai', _his sensei called it, sheeeesh!. Running his hand though his hair. he could still feel the bumps in his head.

But hey, could be worse, right?. He could be stuck with that snake like guy who his sensei said was the last person to have and apprentice.

'_Kosuke sensei, I wish you didn't have to go', _he wishpered.

.

..

...

...

(Three days ago)

In a secluded part of the Senju forest, later known as Konoha forest.

'_So, you'll be leaving the orphanage in three days?' _asked Kosuke to his student.

'_Yes sensei, I won't be able to come tomorrow, or the day after that. Something about counseling they said', _was the student's reply.

'_Hey sensei, why don't you come with me when i move to my new apartment?'_, Naruto asked.

'_Hmm, I would love to Naruto. But i can't'_, replied Kosuke.

'_Why?'_ Naruto asked, a hint of worry in his voice. _'Are you leaving? But, you just started teaching me'._

'_Yes Naruto', _Kosuke said, with a grandfatherly smile on his face. _'In fact, I'm leaving tomorrow. But don't worry, It's not like you think. You see, i have a mission.'_

And before Naruto could talk, Kosuke; already knowing what he was going to say cut him off.

'_I can't tell anything about my mission Naruto. All I can say is that I'll be gone for a few months. But don't worry, I'll be back to continue your training', _he said, calming the boy.

That evening, both knowing that it would be a long time till the saw the other again they took a little longer.

Later, as it was time for Naruto to leave, Kosuke handed him a few more scrolls.

''_Naruto, I want you to practice on your own while I'm gone. Don't worry, you already know enough to progress on your own. Read these scrolls, learn everything thoroughly, forwards and backwards. I'll be checking whether you learn it or not when i get back ._

_Listen, you already know the basic fundamentals of being a ninja. And you've exceed my expectations, by a large margin. You'll do fine, believe in yourself, i believe in you'_. Kosuke said.

Naruto was surprised. This was the first time the old man had praised him. And he said he believed in **him!. Him!, **the orphan.

Then and there, he had a new resolve. A nindo, a ninja way he would live by.

'_I'll never give up sensei, I'll train hard. I'll be the hokage, just you wait'. _He declared.

Kosuke nodded. He believe it, this kid would be a hokage one day.

'_Naruto, when I'm gone. I want you to pick a fight, just once', _Kosuke said.

'_A fight? sensei', _replied the boy.

'_Don't ask why. Pick a fight; with a genin if you can. A full fledged genin at that. You can use anything, except the Kage bunshin',_ said the old man.

'_Without Kage bunshin?', _replied the boy. He was lost, what was his sensei doing.

'_Yes',_ was the firm reply. _'And I want you to write down everything, your analysis of your opponent. Strength, weakness, everything',_ Kosuke finished

'_Ok sensei', _said the boy half heartedly.

Then the old man pulled out another scroll, a small one.

'_Read this after you've finished your fight. Only after, do you understand?', _Kosuke asked, giving the scroll to the boy.

The boy nodded. Taking the scroll and adding it to his already existing bundle.

And then, just like that. The old man was gone, not to be seen again for kami knows how long.

.

..

...

...

( A few days later, the Hokage's office)

The Hokage's tower was the most busy place in the entire village. Every day, day in day out; Shinobi would pass each other in its walls. Ninjas from the likes of High ranking jounins; retired veterans, non retired veterans, foreign ninjas, chunins, lowly genins and their senseis visit this tower, specifically the Hokage's office for an audience with the god-of-shinobi, The Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Said old man was in his office, enjoying the very few chances he had to just lay back; relax, and have a few puff from his pipe.

Setting the pipe down on the table in front of him, Hiruzen pulled out a scroll from one of the table's drawers. You see, this scroll was very dear to the hokage. It was one of the few objects in the village that was older than him.

But, what made the scroll unique was that though it was one of Hiruzen's most prized posession, it didn't have much monetary value.

For other people, it could be just a few lines and words drawn on an old scroll. And from the looks of it, you could see that some of the things in the scroll had been corrected a number of times.

On that scroll, was one of the first diagram of the Leaf village drawn by Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. And later, by Senju Tobirama. Hasirama's younger brother.

It was a hand drawn diagram of the idea that was the Leaf. It contained simple sketches of how the village would look like, how large it would be, where would what building be and so on.

The information on the scroll would be worthless to the enemies of the Leaf as Konaha was so much different than what was drawn on it. Although some places - the hokage's office, the hospital and the village wall were the same as in the scroll. The information would be useless as those were information known to even the most ill informed village. Yes, the scroll was next to worthless.

But for Hiruzen, it was valuable. In fact, it was too valuable to be freely shared with others. For Hiruzen, it was an idea made real. The dream of great men, through their hard work, blood and sweat; made into reality.

Also, it contained the handwritings of the Shodai Hokage, the Nedaime and Uchiha Madara.

Though this seemingly simple scroll, one could understand the brilliance of the Shodai Hokage, Senju Hashirama.

From the Nedaime Hokage Senju Tobirama, Hiruzen learned that it was the Shodai, and the Shodai alone who came up with the idea for starting a shinobi village. He came up with the location, how the village would run in general, where which building would be placed and who knows how many ideas still employed today.

Placed at the southern edge of the Akaishi mountain rage, a mountain range that ran from north to south the village had a natural barrier on its northern side. Using the mountain range as its back the village spread to the south in a semi-circular shape.

Also, as most of the mountains at the Akaishi range were plateaus, it meant that most of the rivers that had its source at the mountain tops could be easily diverted for the village's source of water.

'_Yes', _thought Hiruzen. _'All his eccentricities aside, Hashirama-sama was a brilliant man._ '

He smiled as he thought back to the first hokage, the man who before him was called god-of-shinobi. The man he thought no one would surpass.

'_They say that all powerful shinobi posses some weird quirks', _Hiruzen's thoughts continued.

'_Hashirama-sama had his low self esteem issue, and that gambling addiction. Tobirama-sama was a soft hearted grouch. Minato was a fuinjutsu nut, and a bit of a pervert like his sensei Jiraiya. Then there was Orochimaru, Tsunade..._

_I guess its true', _he thought out loud, putting the scroll back to the drawer and in its place took out an orange book. _'They were all so weird, all of them. I guess I'm the only one that's normal'. _He thought to himself.

Without a knock the doors to office opened and a bandaged man, as old as the hokage himself walked in.

'_You wish to see me Hiruzen?', _asked the intruder.

'_Damm!', _Hiruzen thought. _'I completely forgot about my meeting with Danzo'._

Putting the book away he looked at the man who was once his closest friend. The one person of his generation that was able to compete with him.

But now, said person was the bane of his duties as hokage. Shimura Danzo, the one person that made his job harder and easier at the same time.

A scowl replaced the happy face that was on the hokage's face before.

'_I heard that you were recruiting again Danzo, are you challenging by authority as the hokage?. I gave orders for Root to be disbanded', _he said with a no nonsense tone.

The bandaged man, now identified as Danzo. Stared back at the hokage with a face betraying nothing of his emotions.

'_Your orders still stand Hiruzen', _Danzo replied.

'_Root is still reduced to the minimum. What happened was merely replacing an operative, the number is still the same as before. As we agreed.'_

'_It better be', _Hiruzen said grimly. _'For your shake'._

Naruto stood at the branch of a large tree that stood at the intersection between sector 27 and sector 28, he had been pursuing his target through several sectors and he was starting to worry if the target was ever going to someplace less populated.

Secretly, he was worried. Doubts ran in his mind, what if he wasn't good enough, what if the genin he chose to fight was stronger than he looked, what if he people found out what he was planning and banned him from the shinobi program completely.

'_No!', _he steeled his resolve. '_Kosuke sensei told me to do this, i must obey my sensei at all cost', _he thought.

Checking if the weapon pouch tied at his lower back was secure, he could see that the genin he was after was heading towards the Baths.

'_Finally, some good luck', _he thought. The hot baths were located at the west inside the village walls. Using hot water that came from the thermal energy of the earth, it was a popular bathing spot for many, civilians and shinobi.

Naruto looked around from the tree he had just jumped to. Seeing that no one was around, it was time to make his move.

'_Okay, here i go', _he thought to himself.

Before he met Kosuke, the old Naruto would have shouted at his would be opponent, removing all sense of surprise or his advantage.

But now, though the many times his sempai 'The hammer' had knocked the stupidity out of him. He had learned to think before he acted.

The stupidity was still there, no doubt about it. It's just, there was less in him.

'_Naruto, when you talk you say stupid things. So talk less, think about what you are about to do or say for at least ten seconds'., _his sensei had told him.

'_I hope i look bad ass', _he thought to himself, which was highly unlikely. A small boy of seven years old, with goggles strapped on his head, white T-shirt, dark brown pants and black sandals. It was highly unlikely.

He took out a shuriken from the pouch, _'time to scare the stupid head', _he thought.

The genin he was about to fight wasn't picked in random at all. In fact, after his sensei left he was worried shitless.

He combed the genin training grounds for potential targets, usually the genin that looked like the weakest of their group, those that were teased or periodically insulted for their idiocy. Or in this case, the stupid head of his genin team

After a second of aiming he launched the suriken, aiming for a few meters in front of the walking genin.

The genin, tired after an intense training session. And pissed off, due to the many insults he got from his teammates was clearly shocked.

A shuriken landed directly in front of him. _'What the!', _he half shouted.

Jumping to his left he took out a kunai and faced the source of the shuriken's trajectory, all in a blink of an eye for his observer.

'_Who's there?, show yourself', _the genin barked out.

'_Hello genin', _came a voice from one of the trees he was scanning.

A boy stood on a tree branch. He had blond hair, wore a white T-shirt, was about seven or eight years old, and what the heck! is that a goggle on his head.

'_What do you want brat?', _the genin asked. From the tone of his voice one could tell that he had deemed the boy as non-threat, but you could also tell that he was pissed.

'_Just want to find out how good the genin in the village are', _the boy replied.

Inside Naruto was thinking, 'Osu! Sensei was right, i totally sound bad ass'.

'_Listen brat',_ the genin spoke, interrupting his thought. _'I don't have time to play ninja with you. Now why don't you run home to your momma before i spank your ass.' _

Naruto was furious, but before he was about to say something stupid he remembered his hammer sempai and stopped himself.

'_The only one getting their ass spanked here Gennosuke stupid head, is you'._ Naruto taunt back, using the same insults Gennosuke's teammates used on him.

'_**Why you!', **_Gennosuke shouted. Young brat or not, he was going to beat this kid's ass.

Quickly moving forward he ran up the tree before the brat could react. When he was level with where the brat stood he launched the kunai he held towards the boy's left leg.

The kunai hit it target, but there was a white puff and the boy was gone. In his place was a log on which the kunai was embedded.

'_Substitution? so the brat knows some jutsu', _Gennosuke thought, a little surprised. But jutsu or not, he was going to hurt the brat.

A shuriken came from another tree that was adjacent to where he stood. With quick hand he took out a kunai from its holster and blocked the shuriken.

Jumping to the tree where the brat was located and launched his kunai, but it met the same result as before.

'_Dammit', _Kosuke cursed. If he was angry before he was fuming now.

Jumping behind the tree he made a quick bunshin and made the clone jump out for the kid to see.

From his hiding spot at a tree Naruto could see the genin._ 'He's really stupid,'_ he thought.

As Gennosuke was looking away Naruto thought he might be able to surprise him at close range with Taijutsu.

Circling the tree the genin stood on Naruto approached full speed.

'_Hey stupid head!' _he called out, swinging his fist. But instead of making contact his fist went right through.

'_Shit! A clone', _Naruto cursed himself that he fell for a clone.

Suddenly his fist was caught by the angry genin with his other arm making a fist that was headed straight for Naruto.

BAMM! The genin made contact. Naruto fell to the clearing that was the road below, with Gennosuke right behind him.

It was an all out fight now, the Genin, with his longer reach and better Taijutsu form drove Naruto to defensive.

'_Shit! I can't beat him, he's too strong', _Naruto panicked.

Gennosuke, being stronger than the brat was having the time of his life. _'I'm gonna beat you to a pulp you little shit', _he said.

Blocking a right hook Gennosuke suddenly grabbed both Naruto's arm near the shoulder. _'You lose brat', _he said with a grin that promised pain.

Being completely dominated by the genin, Naruto did something that the genin never thought that he would do. He head butted him.

Blood spluttered from Gennosuke's nose._**'You little shit!'**_he yelled.

Before Naruto could take advantage his legs were swept from under him and a fist impacted in his face. All he remembered after that was a lot of little Kosuke sensei dancing around in his head.

(A few hours later)

Naruto reached his home well after dark. His face was a mixture and dry blood and huge swelling, he carried what remained of his shirt in his hand. His pants, what was left of them, still covered his private parts but barely.

It was humiliating, perhaps the most humiliating experience he ever had.

He had come around less than half an hour ago, being hung upside down on one of the branch they had been fighting, butt naked.

Had it not been for some kind stranger passing by he would have been there for a long time.

After a quick shower, he collapsed on his bed, too tired to even take a closer look at what his face looked like.

He just laid there.

'_Dammit... Dammit.. Dammit!', _It repeated in his head over and over again.

He lost. He had lost very badly to a genin.

He had lost to someone whose skills were so mediocre that his own teammates would make fun of him.

'_Four months... Four months and hundreds of hours of training and I still lost... dammit. I'm so weak, so fucking weak..!', _he just cried and cried.

After who knows how long laying on his bed, there was a feeling that awoke in him. He couldn't explain it, it was like this feeling made it seem like what happened today was trivial. Like it was nothing compared to what will happen in the future.

It was strange for him. This feeling, it was like being a child comforted by his mother while simultaneously staring at the face of the Grim Reaper himself.

This feeling, it both scared and comforted him at the same time.

With a groan Naruto got up. The pain he felt, physically and mentally from his defeat subsided, headed towards the balcony.

He stared at the night lights of the village, thinking of nothing in particular, just lost in everything that had happened.

'_I will never lose again', _the words escaped his mouth. He hadn't thought about saying it. But after thinking about it he repeated.

'I will never lose again'.

Then he remembered, _'sensei's scroll, he told me to open it after I fight a genin',_ he thought, heading back to the bedroom where he kept his scrolls.

Digging through the pile of scrolls the immediately spotted the small, noticeable scroll.

With a moment's pause for getting ready for whatever was written inside.

At first he thought it was some kind of joke, a cruel tease form his sensei for losing the fight, which he figured his sensei predicted.

'_No!... No, Kosuke sensei would never pull such low blow', _he thought. Cursing himself for thinking so badly of the old man.

He read the words on the scroll again.

'If you lack Heaven, seek wisdom, be prepared. If you lack Earth, run in the fields, seek advantages'.

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What the heck does this mean.

* * *

Chapter End~

* * *

_**Read & R**_**eview**


	8. A search for Earth

THE MANNED GENIN

Posted: 09-03-2014

Updated : 30-3-2014

Summary:

Naruto receives training from the unlikeliest place early. How will this affect the Elemental Nations, can the shinobi world handle a Naruto who is smarter than canon.

Chapter 8: A search for Earth.

( Naruto's apartment : A day after his fight )

It was just the previous day that Naruto got several kinds if shit beaten out of him. It was just yesterday that he was on top of the world, learning cool jutsus, learning how to strengthen his body with the wonder that was chakra.

It was just yesterday that the Hokage's hat was just within his grasp.

But now, that dream seemed like way out of his reach, something akin to a snake looking at birds in the heavens and wanting to soar.

It didn't matter to him that the genin he fought was 6 years his senior, not that he knew. No, it didn't matter to him that the genin had experience, nor that he had participated in a chunin exam before.

No, he was Uzumaki Naruto, future hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. He was suppose to be awesome. He was suppose to dazzle his foes with his greatness, he was suppose to win, he was suppose to be unstoppable.

Not being beaten by some stupid head genin named Gennosuke.

Though the swelling and aches of his body from the previous day had already gone, it still hurt, deep down.

So he just laid there on his back at the balcony, staring at the clear blue sky above him.

'_Earth...'_

'_Heaven...'_

'_What do they mean?', _he mumbled.

He knew he lacked these two things, Kosuke sensei's scroll had told him so. But what were they?

The heaven part he had absolutely no idea about. But the earth...the earth.

'_Could it be earth jutsu?', _he thought. _'No, it can't be. If it were earth jutsu it would mean that everyone that couldn't do earth jutsu lack it', _he concluded. He knew from what he had learned from his sensei that specific chakra type meant for specific jutsu.

If you had earth nature chakra, you could be proficient at earth jutsu. If not, then it would be harder for you to do earth jutsu that is if you could do them at all.

'_I can do this', _he said to himself. _'Kosuke sensei had faith in me, I can do this. I can figure out what this 'Earth' is'._

Sitting up, he began to brainstorm if there was any clue to the answer from his training.

'_**Meditate, think!',**_his sensei's words rushed to his head.

Then it hit him, what his sensei had said during one of their training session.

'_Naruto, a path one chooses to walk for himself, by himself and only with himself only leads to failure. Even if you succeed in reaching the goal you seek, It will only bring sorrow and pain for yourself and those close to you._

_If you choose a path, make sure others can walk in that path. Form a bond with those people that are close to you. Learn to trust them as the will trust you, cry with them in their sorrow, laugh with them in their joy; and I promise you, they will follow you to hell itself._

_They will help you when you need it, praise you when you are worthy, scold you in your misbehave. You don't have to be alone...'_

That was it, he knew what to do. If he couldn't find out what Earth was by himself, he could learn it from others.

(Northwest Konoha, the Hyuga Compound)

Hyuga Hinata was a sad child, quiet and slightly more emotional than those of her clan. In one of the green house of the Hyuga compound, little Hinata was kneeling over a potted chakra infused medicinal plant 'Ashitaba', pruning the pant so that it would produce more of the thick leaves that were valuable for treating nerve damage.

This was one of the things she and her mother used to do together when she was alive. Her mother, Hyuga Hitomi was a kind soul of the Hyuga clan if there ever was one, she the strongest person Hinata had ever known.

Life without her mother was hard. Her father, Hyuga Hiashi seemed to have forgotten how to laugh completely without her mom.

Also Hitomi was never afraid to voice her opinion on what she thought was wrong. He treated members of the branch house member of the Hyuga clan in the same way she would treat those of the main house member.

When she was around, the Hyuga clan seemed more unified. Even Hinata's grandfather, the previous head of the Hyuga clan, now an elders of the clan liked the charismatic woman.

But now, only two after her mother death, the clan was colder than it had ever been. Branch members lost voice on matters concerning the machination of the clan completely.

'_Hinata, my precious darling.. Take care of your father and sister. Be strong Hinata', _her mother had said to her. Tears followed as she remembered her beloved mother, it was two years ago since her mother died. But yet, it seemed unreal. Mothers were suppose to be around forever.

'_Hinata-sama', _a voice brought her out of her thoughts. It was Ko, her personal bodyguard assigned by her father.

'_They have summoned you Hinata-sama, they are waiting', _Ko said.

After thanking Ko made her way towards the clan's hall, where all the prominent figures inside the clan would gather.

Pausing before the door to catch her breath, she could hear the muffled sounds of the discussion inside.

'_With all due respect Hiashi-sama', _called out a voice. _'We understand the need for Hinata to attend the ninja academy, but for Kohuri, a branch member to attend as well!, this is unheard of'._

It was true, unlike the Uchiha clan in which those that wished to attend the academy are allowed to enter. The Hyuga clan allowed only the future clan heir and those of the main house that are exceptionally talented to attend.

And for Hyuga Kohuri, a branch house member to attend was considered taboo. It was true that Neji, a branch member was allowed to attend the academy the previous year, but the circumstances that allowed that was unique.

Firstly, Neji was a genius. Even by the Hyuga clan's standard his byakugan was powerful.

Secondly, Neji's father Hizashi sacrificed himself both for the village and for his brother, the present clan head. So if they didn't allow Neji to attend, it would be a bad image for the clan.

'_I have seen Kohuri's talents with my own eyes, she will attend the academy', _Hiashi said with a finality.

Outside the door Hinata gulped, how she wished she was elsewhere_. _Taking a deep breath she pushed the door open and entered.

(Meanwhile, near the Hyuga's compound)

Naruto was worried; he had spent the entire day looking for his answer. He had tried the training grounds, the various chunin and jounin lounge that he knew. But still, no one could or wouldn't tell him what 'Earth' was.

He didn't know where he was heading but he didn't care. He didn't want to be home right now with the worry that he had.

'_I don't think I've never been to this part of town', _he thought to himself. but from the look of it, he was in the richer part of the village. The houses had expensive tile roofs, gates decorated with shiny metals and family or clan crests. And down the road he could see a large walled compound.

'_I'm in the northern part of the village so that must be where the Hyuga live', _he deducted.

When he first started to learn about the various kekkei genkais and Dojutsus of the village, he'd often dream about what it would be like to have one. He had never seen a Sharingan or Byakugan being activated so he would often have to make up how they would look like.

'_Maybe if I take a peek I could see them practice with it', _he thought.

Moving to the wall that was nearest to him she scaled it to the left for any part of the wall that would allow for him to enter.

After a while of scaling the wall through thick bushes and that annoying stream the slipped into, he saw it. There, in front of him was a part of the wall that had its upper portion damaged. Also, there was a piece of paper on the wall, it had strange writings on it but he thought he strangely understood what it meant.

'_Hide', _he said, taking the paper from the wall. _'I think it stands for hide'_, he repeated. As he held the paper he had a strange feeling, like his chakra was sucked right out of him.

Quickly pocketing the paper he entered through the opening.

Landing on the other side of the wall he gaped at what he saw. It was beautiful; the whole compound looked like it was made out of a story book. He saw what looked to be gardens, decorated lamp posts, beautiful flowers that were arranged such that the colors form patterns.

Before he could take a step further a voice called out behind him.

'_Do not move if you want to live', _the cold voice said.

Raising his hands immediately as a sign of surrender, _'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to come inside', _he blurted out.

'_What do you have in your pocket? Take it out', _ordered the voice.

Naruto immediately took out the paper he got from the wall, but just as before it sucked at his chakra so he dropped it.

'_Turn around',_ the voice ordered again.

Naruto turned around immediately. And there he saw it, what he came here to see, a Hyuga, with his Byakugan activated and holding a palm out in front of him, no doubt ready to cast a jutsu should he move.

The Hyuga made a one handed seal with his outstretched palm, spiking his chakra. As soon as he did that two more Hyugas appeared beside him.

'_What is happening Naru?', _one of the new arrivers asked.

The Hyuga that had stopped Naruto, Naru replied. '_I was on my rounds when I saw the wall behind me had been broken into. At first I saw nothing; the chakra running through the wall seemed to run fine. Then suddenly a break appeared in the chakra and I saw this boy near the wall_'.

After Naru had told the new arrivals what he had seen and the strange paper that the boy had in his hands. All Hyugas ther stared at Naruto with their dojutsus activated.

One of the two men that appeared kneeled down and poked at the piece of paper.

'_No wonder we didn't see the disturbance in the chakra running through the wall right away. There is a seal on the paper that hides it', _he said.

'_Naru, alert Hiashi-sama and the elders, we have an intruder in the compound, do it discreetly, he or she may not be aware that we are on to him', _he said to Naru. Then to the other person that arrived with him he said, _'Take the boy to the guard post, don't let him out of your sight'._

There was a lot of commotion in the Hyuga compound after that. The sound of men shouting could be heard in the distance, once or twice there was the sound of explosion, probably from jutsu being cast or explosive notes.

After it was over, inside a guard post where the Hyuga had taken Naruto, said boy was sitting in a chair, sweating at the thought of how much trouble he was in.

One reason of his unwary state was that the Hyuga that was keeping an eye on him was doing just that, even when he was standing near the door with his back turned to him.

Whenever Naruto with move a bit, or when he was crossing his legs as he desperately needed to pee, the guard with react to his every move, like he was getting ready to spring to action should Naruto decided to make a run for it.

After the noise died down the guard turned around, moved over to Naruto; placed a finger to Naruto's forehead and he was unconcious.

(A few hours later: Konoha's T&I Deaprtment)

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared through the one-way mirror at the young unconscious boy lying on the table with Hyuga Hiashi standing beside him. The two men were discussing the events that transpired a few hours ago.

Morino Ibiki, the head of the Torture and Interrogation department approached the two men with a document containing the full report of what had happened.

'_Hokage-sama, Hiashi-san', _he greeted the two men.

'_I trust you were able to find out where our intruder came from Ibiki?', _the Hokage asked not taking his eyes off from the young boy at the other side of the mirror.

'_No Hokage-sama, as you know the he took a suicide pill before he was captured by the Hyuga, it seemed that the pill contained a type of enzyme that sped up nerve deterioration. By the time we got his body, the nerves in body were heavily damaged, so probing his brain was impossible_', the jounin explained.

'_What do you think about this whole incident then?', _the aged Hokage asked.

After a pause Ibiki said,_' I think whoever was behind this was backed up by a major village, if it wasn't the villages themselves'._

'_How so?',_ repliedthe Hokage.

'_Whoever did this have access to Uzumaki style fuinjutsu, which very is rare in itself. Also, they were able to design a seal based on that fuinjutsu to disrupt the chakra running through the Hyuga wall around the Hyuga compound. Also, the seal had an unique function._

_It completely hid any chakra around a 5 meter radius. That is why the guards at the compound were unable to see the damage at the wall. This type of seal design takes research; hence money, something only one of the five great villages are able to do. Also, the explosive tags that the intruder planted around the Hyuga compound were a grade-5 tag, which means military. Had we not found them, the shear amount of it would have reduced the compound to a pile of rubbles._

_And last but not least Hokage-sama. Whoever did this knew how our protocols and procedure. The pill that destroyed the nerves in the intruder's corpse was the final prove that one of the five great villages is behind this, something like that means that they were spying on us.' _Ibiki answered.

'_And what of the boy?'_, this time it was Hiashi who asked.

'_It seemed young Naruto was just an innocent victim of circumstances. He was around your clan's compound at the time of the incident and was curious to what the Byakugan looked like', _Ibiki answered the clan head.

'_Those whisker like marks on his face, he is a demon child isn't he?', _Hiashi added.

This brought the Hokage's attention. He was afraid that Naruto's action in trespassing into the Hyuga''s compound would be taken poorly by the clan, even if he was the reason they found the intruder.

Also, Naruto was a demon child. Like many children born around the Kyuubi's attack he had what the village had referred to as 'The Taint', the whisker like marking on his face were a dead giveaway.

They were treated badly, these demon children. The reason for that was that it was believed that the Kyuubi was going to be reformed through these children. It was accepted that the Yondaime Hokage had destroyed the Kyuubi when the demon rampaged through the village, but like the other tailed beasts that had been destroyed before, it would reform after a few years.

There was once a young boy, Sora was his name as the Hokage remembered. This boy had absorbed the largest amount of the Kyuubi's chakra, even to the point that he could take a miniature form of the Kyuubi up to four tails. And because this boy Sora had once gone on a miniature rampage two years before, it was accepted as a fact that the demon was going to take shape again through these poor children.

'_We the Hyuga owe the boy our gratitude', _Hiashi said to the surprise of the two men with him.

After Hiashi left Hiruzen dismissed Ibiki, after a few minutes of waiting Naruto was starting to stir.

Naruto woke up to a smiling Hokage looking at him. Before he panicked about what had happened, the Hokage calmed him down, explained what had happened with Naruto adding a few details to the tale.

'_You said you were searching for something Naruto, what was it?', _asked the old man.

Naruto stood straight on the table, should he tell this old man, can he trust him. Then he remembered Kosuke sensei saying the Hokage was a good, trustworthy man, and if his sensei trusted him, then he would too.

'_I was looking for earth',_ he said with a smile.

'_Earth?'_, asked the old man, a little startled.

'_Well, it like this Kosuke sensei gave me a scroll. It was written that...'._

'_If you lack heaven, seek wisdom and be prepared. If you lack earth, run in the fields and seek advantages. If you have both heaven and earth, you can overcome all obstacles – this was what it said, wasn't it Naruto', _the Hokage interrupted. He knew the phrase well, after all; it was him that coined it.

'_Huh.. How did you know that, and the last part, did you make it up?',_ Naruto asked, clearly confused.

Hiruzen chuckled_,' it is a common phrase amongst leaf nins'_, he said, not telling Naruto it was him that came up with it.

'_Then you know what earth is?_', he asked, praying that the Hokage knew.

'_As the leader of the leaf village, I think I know'_, Hiruzen answered.

'_Will you tell me what it is?'_, Naruto blurted out.

'_Better yet Naruto, I'll show you how find earth_', answered Hiruzen.

Naruto beamed up, there was only one logical word for something like this.

'_**YATTA!'.**_

_Chapter End~_

_**Read & R**_**eview**


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